The Spirit of Excellence

In preparing for my midweek message on last week the Lord directed my study to the Book of Daniel. It seemed that highlighted in the text was this trait attributed to Daniel, that being that he had an excellent spirit.

I began to look deeper into this and found that this was said of him specifically on a number of occasions and I knew that I had found something worth looking into a little deeper.

To diagnose the characteristics of a person with an “Excellent Spirit”, let us look and see what the scripture show us about Daniel.

He Refused to Compromise

The First Time we meet him is in the first chapter of the Book of Daniel. We are confronted with the situation and circumstance of the environment that he finds himself in. He is a Jew living in Babylon that has been made a Eunuch. He and many others have been carried away from Jerusalem and will for the rest of their days serve at the desire of the King of Babylon. This is far from Ideal. When confronted with what is expected of them, they refuse to compromise. In a situation that would seem they are defeated, still they maintained thier integrity.

When the Chips were down, he stood up.

The second chapter we are confronted with the fact that he along with the rest of those who were gifted and respected in the Kingdom were going to be sentenced to die. Rather than just resign and give up, he stands up and takes it upon himself to be a tool God can use in this circumstance.

Friends of Common Faith with Integrity.

It seems that though Daniel and his friends were not the only Jews in Babylon, they were the only ones that stayed true to their God and the worship to him. When faced with the ultimatum of bowing to pressure or dieing for God… they stood true and were a testimony to the power of people standing up for what is right even when there is a high personal cost involved. This is the kind of friends Daniel Had.

Stayed True when Persecution Came

Daniel being of an excellent Spirit was honored above everyone else. Envy and Jealousy are the product often in this situation and he found himself the target of everyone in power. However even in this situation, being a man of an Excellent Spirit continued in the dedication and devotion of a Worshiper of Jehovah. He continued to pray three times a day… and God honored him and lifted him up and bestowed an even greater level of favor. All while silencing those who chose to try to destroy him.

These are just a few of the attributes that defined this man with an Excellent Spirit. May we all strive to have that kind of spirit and attitude.